CD Reviews

A Forgotten Star.

Jason Stein | San Diego, CA United States | 03/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think Neneh Cherry is underrated. Certainly underappreciated. Since 1989's "Buffalo Stance", "Kisses on the Wind" and "Heart", Neneh Cherry has been mainly forgotten in America. I think 1992's Homebrew is the best of her three cds. It has great songs like "Buddy X", "Peace in Mind", "Red Paint", "Move With Me", "Trout", "Ain't Gone Under Yet" and "Money Love." This is a great hip-hop/r&b cd that was generally overlooked by the public. A must have for any rock collector."

VERY,VERY TASTY

J. Johnson | CT | 07/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After Neneh paved the way with "Raw Like Sushi" in '89,she came back to followup with "Home Brew" in 1992."Home Brew",like it's predocessor relies on a hybrid of singing and rapping.And a large pleathora of styles(rock,pop,soul,R&B,hip hop,you name it)
that make a delicious styling."Home Brew" is more instrospective
and subdued than the defiant "Sushi".Produced by husband Cameron
McVey(billed as "Booga Bear"),"Home Brew" was recorded in a schoolhouse turned home studio in Sweden.Opening perfectly with the jazzy "Sassy" which finds Neneh's playful braggadido and defiant self awareness opposite Gangstarr's Guru.With it's upright bass sample,"Sassy" turns out
to be one of Neneh's best tracks."Money Love" is a 'fierce' rock
pop-ish type track.While "Move With Me" has a unique ballad premise(it was co-written by Lenny Kravitz)."I Ain't Gone Under Yet" is a gem though.Poetic and effective,
"I Ain't" is a song about overcoming adversity under a jazzy
hip hop track.The track also features a priceless intro featuring Neneh's young daughter,Tyson:-) "Twisted" is a tight
midtempo track that highlights love's many complications.
"Buddy X" is a funky and catchy diss to Lenny Kravitz when Mr. K was going through his "unfaithful" days.But "Somedays" REALLY
stands out for a very intresting reason.It has to be one of the first trip-hop cuts to emerge in the early '90s.Produced by Geoff Barrows who'd later be a member of the trip hop unit Portishead,"Somedays" has the moodiness and dark undertones that
trip hop music would later be made of."Trout",featuring R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe is a sex education track that was really popular on alternative and college radio
when "Home Brew" was originally released.
Yet "Home Brew"'s last two track really make an impressive.
"Peace Of Mind" and "Red Paint" are both atmospheric mood pieces.Both make you feel different after you listen to them.
"Red Paint" in particular is REALLY powerful.A atmospheric song
about a man who is murdered cold bloodingly in the streets while bystanders just walk over his blood.This is actually a real life experience since Neneh's mother,artist Moki Cherry,had
a similar one.At the end of the song,sirens blare and Neneh gently sings "Guided by the blue light/I'm on my way home".
It's a real meaningful moment."Home Brew" proves yet again that Ms. Neneh Cherry was simply TOO ahead of her time."Home Brew" doesn't sound anything like
1992! It's diverse and forward minded.Ironically,Neneh's next album,"Man" would leave off where "Home Brew" left off.
It was more song oriented and leaned VERY much into trip hop.
That Neneh,you just don't know what you're going to get with her.And that's the thing that keeps us fans coming back for more."

Should have been a hit!

Westley | Stuck in my head | 09/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many people had very high expectations for HOMEBREW, given how well her first CD (the excelllent "Raw Like Sushi") did. Of course, she had two top 10 singles off that one ("Buffalo Stance" and "Kisses on the Wind"). Unfortunately, her second CD didn't fare as well, which is a crime. I think that the main reason for its lack of success is also what makes this CD so great - it was years ahead of its time. Unlike the fairly straight-forward pop of her debut CD, the songs on HOMEBREW display a stunning amount of variety. BUDDY X is more rock-oriented, TROUT (a deut with Michael Stipe) is alt-rock (and was minor modern rock hit), RED PAINT is a beautiful ballad, MONEY LOVE is urban R&B, and so on. It's really difficult to accurately describe this CD because it is so diverse and sonically challenging. A few years after its release, a prominent entertainment magazine named HOMEBREW one of the 100 best CD's of all time; however, since that time the CD seems to have been scandalously overlooked. Fans of great music of any genre will likely enjoy this CD. Most highly recommended."

MMM, MMM GOOD!

WILLIE A YOUNG II | Houston, TX. | 08/31/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD in 1992, without hearing a note of it on the radio, and I've not gone a week since then without giving it spin! From the jazzy, hard hitting groove of "Sassy" (in my book, her best song since "Manchild") you will be instantly addicted to this album. Of the many highlights, you can sink your teeth into the dance/hard rock of "Money Love" (wicked guitars on the choruses!) the bumpa-licious smooth balladry of "Move With Me" (great production courtesy of Lenny Kravitz) and the shining moment of the album, "I Ain't Gone Under Yet", which was recorded in her living room at home ( dig her young daughter introducing the song, and mom begging to 'lemme just do this tune, I won't be but a minute', it's priceless!). The emotional intensity increases with each song culminating in the pair of powerhouse ballads that close the record, "Peace In Mind" & "Red Paint" a song detailing a stabbing victim lying on the floor of a store, while passersby step over him, into his blood, and tracking it all over, yet not offering him any help. Neneh's delivery, the almost vouyeristic nature of the lyrics, and the screaming sirens in the background make this almost-too painful-to-listen-to song the perfect closer, and a final blow to insensitive, careless people who are oblivious to the world around them (a recurring theme on "Homebrew"). This is an underappreciated masterpiece that hasn't aged a day since it's release, and demands to be heard. Where are you Neneh? We're eagerly awaiting your return!"

"When I heard the first Portishead album a few years ago as it sparked the little boomlet for the "trip hop" movement of the mid-1990's, I was appalled. A huge part of their act was ripped off from Neneh Cherry's *Homebrew,* released *two years* earlier. How could this good-but-not-great record, with vocals by a *white girl*, sell so well while *Homebrew* languished in obscurity? It rankles me to this day. *Homebrew* is a delight from start to finish, easily one of the best records of the 1990's. The lead-off track, a duet with Guru of Gangstarr/Jazzmatazz fame, is called "Sassy," and if you looked up the word sassy in the dictionary, you'd find Neneh's picture. She is nothing less than a positive life-force, managing to be girlishly sexy, an earth mother, and a writer of some of the most grounded and positive lyrics ever. This album was largely recorded at her and husband Cameron McVey's country home in Sweden (hence the album title) and has a suitably loose quality. There are hip-hop numbers like "Money Love" to satisfy fans of the awesome *Raw Like Sushi*, but this record cuts much deeper, pioneering the trip-hop sound on cuts like "I Ain't Gone Under Yet" and "Somedays" while finishing with two moving and atmospheric tracks ("Peace in Mind" and "Red Paint") that transcend all genre while lifting the spirit. By all means, get this record."